Page 21 of The Naga Maverick’s Determined Mate

She was starting to sober, but a smile was still gracing her sexy, pink mouth. “I guess I’m just happy that I was right and that you told me. I was not in a good place when we first met, and I found it hard to trust my own observations, you know? At first, I was really paranoid about everything.”

Ah, that I understood. She was right, when I’d first arrived at Haven, she had not left the caves for more than a few minutes a day. I’d heard whispers that some thought she’d been scared of a dragon snatching her from the air, which was ridiculous, Ses would never and he was the only one there. She’d been very distrustful and scared; anxious all the time. Now that I knew what she’d been through, and the betrayal and loss she’d experienced, I could understand that.

“But doesn’t it upset you that I was there to spy on your friends?” I tried tentatively. I didn’t really want to stir up any trouble but it was very important that we talked this through so there could be no misunderstandings. I wanted to make this mate thing work between us. I wanted to have her love like this Caleb had, I wanted the love that other mated males received from their fated one.

Cosima shrugged, “That depends, were you going to use what you discovered to harm them?” She smiled, telling me that she was already pretty sure that I wasn’t. I fervently shook my head, confirming that anyway. No, those males were all good, hard-working, and honest. The humans were interesting and new but they too had made me feel welcome with their kindness and impressed me with their grit. I did not believe they were a threat to Serqethos, but the ideas they inspired with other outcasts, those might be dangerous.

“You should know that years ago, when I was just out of my fifth molting, something bad happened to my Clan.” It was the event that had triggered my episodes of blood lust, and I was not the only male at Serqethos who had that issue. It had been very traumatic to us all.

In quiet tones that could not carry beyond the walls of our temporary prison, I explained to her of the attack on our Clan. The dozen outcasts that had banded together to steal females from our Clan. At Serqethos, females did not battle to the death, we had plenty to find mates for all our males and these outcasts from other Clans had wanted to steal some for their own.

They’d taken many young daughters, slain the Queen who’d fought to protect her nest of young, and then made off before we could defeat them all. For years, we had been without a Queen while her surviving daughters grew older to take on the mantle. For years, all our Clan could think about was hunting down the outcasts that had stolen from us so that we could return our females to the fold.

“Many, many things changed that day. We halted trade for years, and when our Queen got old enough to try, we discovered she did not have the knowledge to read the images in the portal. We lost the guidance that had set our Clan apart from others. So when we heard of Outcast Haven, the Queen sent me to assess the threat. I was going to try to send a report through the Shaman, to let them know all was well… But I hadn’t figured out yet how to broach the subject with Artek.”

There was a lot to unpack from all that I’d told her and she was quiet as she mulled it all over. Quiet for long enough that my thoughts strayed to the past and that day of blood and death, of terrible loss that had befallen our Clan. As a youngling, I had felt so unsafe, and so scared for the sisters of my Clan that had been lost. Sesethul had been my one rock in that chaos, the beast my anchor in the storm.

“I’m so sorry that happened to your people, Zsekhet. It sounds so horrible!” She looked shaken up. Her gray eyes were soft with sorrow and now wet from tears instead of laughter. That wasn’t what I wanted, even though I appreciated her sympathy.

“I totally understand why your people got worried about us. Do you… Do you want to go home together to tell them we’re safe?” Her words startled me, I had not once considered flying back to Serqethos with Cosima. That’s why I’d been trying to send a message through the Shaman. That was what the Queen expected me to do, and they were anxious for answers, if we didn’t show up soon, they might send warriors.

Then another reason occurred to me for flying to Serqethos together with my mate. The mating ritual. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, it took root there and wouldn’t let go. I really wanted to follow the customs of my people and do that with Cosima, stand in front of the gate and feel connected to my ancestors. To feel blessed that I was gifted with a female to be proud of, to have young with, and who would stand at my side like I would at hers.

“Yesss,” I hissed, “We should fly to Serqethos together. I would love to show you where I grew up, where Ses was hatched, and I want us to celebrate our mating in the traditional Serqethos way.” I could already picture my pretty pale, spotted, female standing on the golden sands. It was easy to imagine what it would feel like to have her in my arms as we made the journey.

Her smile was bright but a little forced but this time I was pretty sure I knew what she was thinking. “We’ll live at Haven, of course. I have seen the way your skin pinkens with too much sunlight. Serqethos is an oasis in the desert, it is no place for us to settle. You should have your new family, your friends with you. Especially when you carry our first youngling.” I touched her flat belly, drawing her attention to how intimately we were sitting together.

“Oh,” she murmured, “I could already be pregnant, I guess. Or well, I might be in a day or so… I’m pretty sure you guys are really potent. Naomi and Vera are both knocked up, and just before we left I heard Charlie puking…” Knocked up? Puking? Horrified I yanked my hand away from her belly, that sounded terrible. I was not going to be knocking anyone, and I definitely didn’t want her to get sick.

The strangled noise that came out of my throat was a tad embarrassing but it made Cosima laugh. “Ah, don’t worry. A little morning sickness is very normal in human pregnancies. The girls will be fine.” I was not convinced and I resolved to speak about this with Zathar and Artek as soon as we got out of here.

Chapter 13

Cosima

I wasn’t quite sure what was making Zsekhet worried, except maybe the prospect of morning sickness. I wanted to start assuring him that I’d be fine either way and that I wasn’t even pregnant right now, but a noise outside our door stopped me.

Springing into action, Zsekhet was next to the doorway, half crouched because of the low ceiling, and a pair of daggers in his hands. I didn’t have any weapon of my own, so I made sure to quickly grab our things together and sling the satchel over my shoulder. If we were getting fetched to see this King, we might not be returning to this little hut.

The scrape of something heavy being removed was loud, which made me realize that it had been oddly quiet out in the big cave for a while. Before, the babble of voices, animals, and craftsmen at work created a loud din. But it was quiet now, as if everyone had left. I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not.

When the door opened, the light of many campfires still glowed around the cavern, but it was darker than before. The male Naga that had opened the door was the same one as before, a guy with a hint of orange at the edges of his scales, and starburst bright orange eyes. He was accompanied by half a dozen more warriors but they were hovering further back. If I wasn’t mistaken, the expressions on their faces were a combination of fear and disgust. Yikes, now I knew how Naomi had felt when she’d been hauled through this cave.

“The King is ready to see you,” the orange-hued male said. Though calling him orange wasn’t right, he was still predominantly red, it was just that he stood out among the crowd with those bright edges. Hadn’t Naomi and Krashe had dealings with a male with his coloring out in the wasteland with the creepy robots beyond this mountain? I wondered if it was the same guy.

“Then we shall go,” Zsekhet said with a friendly grin. His hands were already empty, but I hadn’t even seen him move to put away his daggers. It wasn’t until I moved closer to him and Zsekhet curled his arm around my shoulder when we stepped out of the hut that I realized that I’d understood that orange guy while I wasn’t touching Zsekhet.

Oh, right. I’d forgotten that mating with a Naga meant you could suddenly understand their language, even when not touching. Vera said they called it a spirit connection but she couldn’t explain how it worked. We hadn’t thought to ask the Shaman, maybe he knew.

I kept my eyes wide open as we walked through the warren of little paths behind the orange male. A whole array of spears was pointed at our backs, hostility pumping off our guards in waves. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, unease making my stomach clench. I really didn’t like this situation but hopefully, that King would resolve it all. I still figured that the fact that we hadn’t been killed on sight was a good sign.

The large round gathering place we reached was as empty as the paths we’d traversed. Across from us stood a large wooden building that drew the eye from every direction. It had a sloped roof of gleaming purple wood, and sculptures had been carved into the ends of the beams that supported it. A double set of doors gaped open at the front, allowing us to glance into the dark interior. I saw nothing but shadows and then with a lurch, I noticed a rust-brown smear along the edge of the door. Was that blood?

Our guide turned us to the left, angling us not towards that big building, but a small hut closer by. That big building had to be an important place like a palace or a temple but the King was not there, like I expected. The hut he was in was almost a hovel, with mud walls and a low ceiling. There was no ornamentation and only a single lantern for light.

The King himself was also nothing like I expected. A Naga small of stature with dull, dark red scales partially covered by a boring brown robe. The brightest splash of color was in the scarlet sash he’d tied around his robe to keep it closed. His black hair was in a tight braid, slick with oil or wax so not a hair was out of place around his stern features. When he smiled at our entrance, he showed us that the top row of his teeth and fangs were missing, just an empty black gap.

I knew who this was; Naomi had described him to me in detail. Aser, the right-hand man of Krashe, back when he’d been Warlord to the Bitter Storm Clan. He’d also been the Naga that had led a group of warriors to our very door a few months ago, only for them to settle on an uneasy truce for now. This was the male that Krashe supposedly had contact with from time to time, to debate how to solve Bitter Storm’s famine.